My Best Friend (8 page)

Kay answered, “Any day now.” Kay kept looking at her rings. She couldn’t believe sh
e was married. She was so happy, but her
happiness faded away when she heard a familiar voice. She froze; it was Tommy.

He
looked over at
her and made his way to their table.

“Hey, Kay, I see you’re still pregnant,” he said.

Jason got up. “Get away from her. I guess you don’t remember what I told you that night, but I’ll remind you. If you come near her again, I will kill you.”

Tommy replied, “Dude, calm down I don’t want her. I already had her, and what’s your deal? You act like she’s your woman?”

“As a matter of fact she is. She’s my wife,” Jason answered.

Tommy’s smile fad
ed. “What?” he said surprised.

“Yes, she’s my wife.”

“What?” He looked at her hand and saw the ring. “I knocked her up, and you married her?” He started laughing.

“The baby is mine,” Jason said, a little pissed.

Tommy turned to Kay. “You bitch. You lied to me.”

She was about to tell him the truth when Jason closed his fist and punched him in the face. “Don’t you ever call my wife a bitch. You treated her like shit, and she turned to me.”

Tommy turned to Kay. “Last time you saved him, but this time he is going to pay!” he yelled.

Kay could tell by Jason’s expression that he was confused by what Tommy had just said. Jason said, “Kay, come on lets go.” He turned to Tommy. “This is the last time I’m going to tell you. Don’t you
ever
fucking talk to her again!” he yelled.

Kay stopped, turned around, and walked over to Tommy. “Don’t you dare press charges against my husband. I can still bring you down. I know a lot about you remember?” She turned and walked away.

They got in the car and drove off. He was angry, and his grip on the steering wheel was making his knuckles turn white. Jason had known this day would come. “What did you do, Kay?”

She ignored his question and asked her own. “Why did you tell him the baby wasn’t his? Now he thinks I’m a slut.”

“Kay, I can’t believe you’re mad at me,”
he raised his voice
. “He is finally out of our lives. Does it matter how I did it? And why the
fuck
does it matter what he thinks of you? He is nothing to me. Tell me, Kay, do you still have feelings for him?” he asked without looking at her.

“No, you’re the only one I have feelings for,” she said. “I just don’t think that was the right way to approach the situation.”

He looked at her
,
“It worked, didn’t it? If you want to go tell him I lied, go ahead. Stop ignoring my question and tell me what you did to make him not press charges,” he yelled. “Tell
me, Kay.”

He startled her, and she jumped. “
I called and threatened him
, if he went to the cops, I would too. You beat him up because of me, Jason. I couldn’t let you go to jail, not even for a night. I did it because I love you.”

“Kay,
I’m a damn lawyer. I could’ve dealt with it. I don’t want to owe that fucker anything.”

“You don’t,” she said in a whisper. “He won’t bother us again. Please Jason, it’s our wedding day.”

“You just now realized that?” he said, still angry.

The rest of the drive was done in silence. They made it to the house. She got out the car without looking back and stormed into the house without saying a word. This day was supposed to have been the happiest day in their relationship, but the day had turned from good to bad in less than two hours. She went into the bedroom and slammed the door, and he went to his office to check his email. He was trying to calm down. Usually he was the one always apologizing, but not this time. He hadn’t done anything wrong. All he’d done was secure their future as a family.

“Jason! Jason!” she yelled, but he ignored her until he heard her say, “My water just broke.”

Great,
he thought. He ran to the bedroom and saw the puddle on the floor. Something was wrong. In all the books he’d read and the cla
sses they’d attended, no one
said anything about that much blood. He called her doctor, who said he would meet them at the hospital. He picked her up and carried her to his car. On the way to the hospital, her contractions were getting closer and closer. She was quiet, but he could see she was in a lot of pain. He hated that there wasn’t anything he could do. When he pulled up to the hospital, the nurses were waiting to wheel her to the maternity ward.

He waited an eternity
it seemed like
, and finally, the doctor came to the waiting room and said he could go in. The doctor told him he didn’t know what had started the bleeding, but he needed to get the baby out as soon as possible. He told them she needed to start pushing or he would have to perform an emergency C-section. The contractions came closer. The doctor told her to push, and she did. Jason held her hand and kissed her forehead. He’d heard crazy stories of women cursing and hitting during labor, but Kay wasn’t anything like that. She was silent and did what she was told.

She pushed again and again until he could see the baby’s hair. She pushed one last time, and the baby came out. The baby wasn’t crying yet. She was covered in vernix, and the doctor asked him if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord. He went over and cut it. The baby started crying, and it was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard.

He looked back to see if Kay had seen her, but her eyes were closed. “Kay, Kay,” he said, trying to wake her. He looked at the doctor, and the doctor rushed over to check her.

He turned to the nurses. “Get one of operating room ready. She’s hemorrhaging.”

The nurses
rushed her out. Jason was shocked. What had just happened? Their baby girl was here, but now his wife’s life was in danger. She hadn’t even seen her. His world was turned upside down in less than twenty-four hours. All he could think about was the last time they’d been together. He didn’t get to tell her he loved her.

He called his parents and told th
em what happened. They
were on their way. The nur
se returned and said, “Sir, the Doctor is
operating on her.
I will keep you updated.” S
he handed him Kay’s wedding rings. He just stared at them and started crying.

*
**

The nurse came in with the baby, and she asked, “Would you like to hold her?”

He stretched out his arms and held his baby for the first time. She was beautiful
, looking
like her mom with a
little button
nose and soft pink lips. Her eyes were closed, but he could see that she had long lashes. Her skin was the color of smooth caramel, and she had jet-black curly hair. He was speechless holding his little girl. He kissed her. “Happy birthday, Angel. I’ve been waiting for you.” He sat in Kay’s room holding their baby, memorizing her, counting her fingers and toes. At that moment, she became his rock.

His parents walked in. His mother had been crying, but she walked over and lo
oked at her grandbaby. “She’s
beautiful.” His dad hugged and kissed him, saying, “She is going to be ok.”

“
If that were true, the Doctor or Nurses
would’ve told me.” He said without looking at his dad.

The doctor came in, and Debbie took the baby from Jason. “Your wife is in the ICU. She’s in critical condition because she has lost a lot of blood. What happened to her is common in some woman. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I just wanted you to know it wasn’t your fault. There was nothing you could’ve done, and now, all we can do is wait.”

“What do
you mean wait?” his dad asked.

“We did all we could. Now it’s all up to her.”
The doctor answered.

Jason broke down
crying in his dad’s arms. “Let it out son. Your daughter needs you now more than ever.”

After he calmed down, Debbie handed the baby back to him. She opened her eyes. She ha
d beautiful hazel eyes, making
him
smile. She had
the same doll eyes as her mother’s. He lost himself in her eyes, and said, “I love you.” The nurse came back to get the baby. It was time to feed and change her.

His dad turned to him, and said, “Your wife needs you to be strong for her too. Go see her and let her feel your love. We will stay here waiting for the baby.”

He walked into the ICU. She was hooked up to machines with a tube down her throat. He couldn’t bear to see her like that. Only about five hours ago they’d been happy, waiting for their bundle of joy. He started to remember how their day had gone and started whispering, “I’m so sorry for what happened with Tommy. I underst
and what you did and why. Kay, S
weetie, I love you.” He paused. “Angel is waiting to meet you. She is beautiful; actually she’s perfect. I can already see she h
as your personality. She has a good set of lungs; I wish you c
ould hear
her cry
. She has already won over her grandparents with those big beautiful eyes. Baby, I need you to wake
up. She needs you. I need you.” He broke down crying. “Please wa
ke up, S
weetie.” He grabbed and squeezed her hand. A nurse came in and told him that visiting hours in ICU were over. He kissed her tender lips, and said, “I’ll be back. I’m only leaving because they won’t let me stay. I love you.”

He went back to the room. When he entered, his parents were holding Angel with so much love. His mom looked up. “Son, we’re here if you need us. Do you need us to stay with you?”

He nodded. The baby started crying. His mother handed her back to him, and he started rocking her and singing, “You Are My Sunshine.” He sung it to her when she was in Kay’s womb. As soon as she heard his voice, she calmed down and started to fall asleep. He was mesmerized just looking at her. If she hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have been able to hold it together. He looked at his dad. “Dad, do you think Kay knows how much I love her? Before she went into labor, we were arguing. I didn’t get to tell her I loved her.”

His father went over to him. “Son, she knows you love her, and she loves you. Any fool could see how much you two love each other; even before you two realized it. Just because you two were arguing doesn’t mean that she thought you didn’t love her. Everybody argues; that part of marriage.”

Chapter
Eig
h
t

Three days later, he sat in the ICU looking at her, hoping she would open her eyes. “Kay, I know you’ll come back to me.” He hadn’t shaved or left the hospital. His partners were taking care of his cases and told him to take all the time he needed. She lay there so still, and he felt so useless. If he could have, he would have exchanged places with her in a heartbeat. She didn’t deserve this. A thought went through his mind.
What if I bring the baby? I know they said it wouldn’t be wise, but maybe that would give her the strength to wake up.

He went to the nurse and asked her to please let him take the baby in for at least five minutes. He continued to beg her until the nurse caved in. She said, “I’ll see what I can do.” The nurse returned with the baby and handed Angel to him. “You have five minutes; I need my job,” she said and went out the door.

Jason looked at Kay. “Hey sweetie, look who’s here. It’s Angel. She came to meet her mom.” He sighed. “She looks just like yo
u. She’s beautiful, with
hazel
eyes, and
black
curly
hair. Her lips are rose pink, and she has your dimples. Open your eyes, babe, please.” He got up and laid Angel next to her so she could feel her, but nothing happened.

The nurse came back to get the baby, and what she saw melted her heart.

“Sir, I have to take her back before the doctor comes back,” she said. He handed her the baby.

“Thank you so much. I thought that would work.” He whispered, “Kay, wake up. She needs her mom.” He said another prayer. It seemed all he did was pray. This time he thought,
if you do decided to take her please let her see her baby girl.

His mom was outside waiting for him in the hallway, and she hugged him. “Son I talked to Angel’s doctor. He said he was releasing her today. What are you going to do? I can take her home if you want me to.”

“No, Mom,” he said. “Kay and I were supposed to take her home together, so I will do it. I want to take her home. Can you please come over tomorrow morning so I can come and sit with Kay?”

“Yes, I will,” she said. “I’ll do a
nything for you and Angel.”

“Tell Dad not to feel guilty and to have a safe trip. There is nothing he could do.”

His mom hugged him. “Do you want me
to go to your house with you?”

He hugged her back. “I want to be alone with my baby.”